How to Reduce Paper Clutter

Paper. It’s a dreaded thing for many people. From not knowing what to keep to not knowing what to do with it once you decide to keep it, paper can cause major problems for people. It’s one of the biggest sources of clutter especially in offices, but the struggle is no better at home. In fact, it seems that decisions are harder to make at home as it isn’t always so clear what has value and what doesn’t.

The first challenge is to stop the accumulation. You must cut off the inflow in order to get a handle on the paper issues.

Cancel subscriptions that you no longer want or need.

Invest in a good shredder and place it near your garbage can.

Check your mailbox each day.

Open and process mail each day right near the garbage can and shredder.

Immediately discard any obvious junk mail and catalogs or magazines you know you won’t read. A note: you don’t have to throw away these things. You can also recycle if this is available in your area.

Create a designated spot for bills, things to read, forms to fill, etc. As you are opening the mail, place each paper into the appropriate spot.

Find a few minutes each day to deal with the paper that requires action. You may pay bills one day, grab your “to read” pile on your way to a doctor’s appointment…you get the idea.